Is there a way to change how the list of individuals is displayed? I'm not sure what the current display format is, but it doesn't work for me. I'm working primarily with Culbert records worldwide, and for example, I have hundreds of John Culbert in my database. Right now I have to scroll through them all to find the one I want. I would like to have them continue to be displayed on the left alphabetically, but then on the right either in ascending or descending order by birth date. Using the filter to find a specific individual doesn't work when I'm not sure which one I want in a given birth range.

IIRC for FTM 2010 you can filter for John Culbert. Then you can sort by birth date, marriage date or death date and the filtered index will be sorted that way.

It isn't until FTM 2012 that you can display Lifespan as well as birth, marriage or death dates. I find Lifespan very, very useful.

Just read you query again: you can display one of the following in the index: Birth, Marriage, Death, Lifespan (2012). On the top bar of the index, next to the little house indicating your home person, there is a little icon that allows you to show additional data in the index.

Rosemary

I'm not sure if I understand your problem.

Regarding the main index at the Family tab:

You can choose the PRIMARY sort to be last name, first name, birth, marriage, or death order.

It sounds like you are using last name as your primary sort. The secondary sort when using last name as primary is already birth date - which is what you seem to be asking for.

In words, what you are asking for should be what you are seeing.

Maybe you can re-explain the problem.

_____________________

BTW, the index that is obtained from the main menu (Person > Index) or the index from the index button at the mini-tree of the top of the Person page will NOT sort by any criteria that I have discovered. People with the first name of a certain last name are listed in helter-skelter order.

If that is what you are using, I can sympathize with you. I am often at work in the Person tab of the People workspace and want to select one William Smith from 75 William Smiths, but the index at the person tab does not list them in birth order. I have to switch to the Family tab to get the regular index in the left side of the screen - that one is always in birth order after the primary sort by last name.

Join me in making an enhancement request. The more poeple that join in, the better.

Silverfox: F2 will bring up the index without you having to swap pages. It brings up a pop-up that is only alphabetical but it shows birth date, marriage date and death date (all the preferred fact of course) with the name of the spouse visible at the bottom of the window.

Rosemary

Thanks! Sometimes I miss the good ole DOS days when we memorized keyboard shortcuts.

Now, if that index could show birth date as the secondary sort. I tried sorting that index by clicking on the header bar, but when I clicked the name bar to take it back to alpha by last name, the birth order was back to its old mixed up self.

Nope, there is only 1 sort key in the main index. The fields to sort on are:

Family, given name
Given, family name
Birth date
Marriage date
Death date.

The pop-up index is only by family name (with an option to use married names and a few different ways of handling AKA.

I like the pop-up index because you can see all 3 dates & the spouse.

Rosemary

You said: "The pop-up index is only by family name (with an option to use married names and a few different ways of handling AKA."

No, the pop-up index will sort by any of the columns. Click on the column header. However, that sort only lasts for the time that pop-up screen is open. If you close it and re-open it, it goes back to last name alpha.

You said: "I like the pop-up index because you can see all 3 dates & the spouse."

Yes, I like that, too. But, another reason equal to that is that you don't have to leave the Person tab to get to it. You do have to leave the person tab to get back to the regular index that shows birth order as a secondary sort and will list all 65 William Smiths in birth order. The pop-up shows a few in birth order and a whole bunch that aren't in any real order at all that I can see.

Well, live and learn. I've never bothered trying to sort by any of the dates although with a one name study I can see the advantages.

Sorting's not terribly fast from what I can tell and I haven't found a way to tell if it's just thinking or stuck.

Rosemary

Rosemary,
What is IIRC?

I don't have FTM 2012, so don't understand your reply.

How do you "sort" by birth date in FTM 2010 is my basic question.

Thanks!

Thank you for your reply.
I know nothing about a secondary sort. That is what I am asking- how is that done?

I don't follow the second part of your reply- it seems to contradict your first part, but also seems to be describing the question I have. I cannot find an index following "Person > Index." Opening the person tab displays individual and shared facts.

How does one make an enhancement request - given that I cannot perform a secondarY sort on the index?